Dave Meltzer has given an update on a social media post about WWE Raw that got the internet talking.
On Tuesday, December 12, Meltzer stated on social media that there had been major changes in regard to the media rights negotiations for WWE Raw, with CM Punk playing a factor in that:
Things are changing greatly. Let’s just say things changed greatly with Raw negotiations from a few weeks ago. And Punk is a huge part of the selling point.
Despite it previously being reported that Warner Bros. Discovery [WBD] rejected an offer for WWE Raw back in October, fans online have started to draw multiple conclusions as to what this could mean. With Punk previously stating that David Zaslav, the CEO of WBD, was a fan of his and called him “One Bill Phil,” some have speculated that a deal between WWE and WBD is to be confirmed, potentially at the expense of AEW.
Dave Meltzer Gives Update On Media Rights Negotiations
With rumours continuing to spread over the course of the next couple of days, Dave Meltzer was asked what his social media post alluded to on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer began by stating that while there is no guarantee that WBD will be broadcasting Raw in 2024, the door has been re-opened largely thanks to the signing of Punk:
I mean, here’s the basic gist. WWE is trying to shop around. And one of the people that they were trying to shop to, obviously, we know it’s Amazon Prime, and WBD and Disney, most likely FX, and those are some of the key people that they were trying to shop to, perhaps USA [as well], going for Raw. They would like to get close to $400 million, I don’t think they’re gonna get 400 million for it, but they’re shopping it around. And WBD obviously being one of them and WBD seemed to be dead and it’s not dead. That’s just the basic thing with Punk there and everything like that. It’s not dead.
And it’s not like people should go in there. Oh, my God, you know, this and that with AEW, there’s no way of knowing anything more other than they did have a meeting and it’s not dead. That’s all. As far as the Raw deal. I mean that the talk is that they’re finalising. The belief is they’re finalising pretty soon. I mean, Levesque was at Raw on Monday, missed the one Raw, you remember, because of whatever they were doing, they’re trying to close that deal. So, you know, that’s pretty much it. But Punk opened up what may have been a shut door, how open that door is or what’s going to transpire? I don’t know.
On December 30th, CM Punk will compete at a WWE house show in Los Angeles against Dominik Mysterio. Meltzer addressed this and believes that this match has been set up to give the ideal crowd reactions and to appease network executives:
But Punk, he’s a significant player. And that’s one of the reasons he’s going to be at the house show in Los Angeles, because I’m sure that the people who they are courting they’re going to bring up, everyone’s headquarters is in LA. And I’m sure that they’re going to invite everyone that they’re courting there and figuring that they’re going to see Punk and Dom, right? They pick the right opponent for just a great reaction and go like, look, this is what you’re getting. And this is the show we’re selling. So, the belief is, that it’s coming down relatively soon.
But I mean, it’s one of those things, there’s no rush either. It could come down in six months, but they’re in negotiations, and AEW is in negotiations, and these negotiations are going to be gigantic to the future of wrestling in many ways. Depending on who gets what, depending on the days of the week, depending on the counters. I mean, obviously I don’t expect SmackDown on Friday, I mean, it’s not out of the question, but I don’t expect it. Raw is not necessarily going to wind up on Monday, and NXT may not be on Tuesday.
No matter which network ultimately signs the media rights to WWE Raw, the results are set to affect AEW. With Monday Night Football hindering Raw ratings throughout the year, it has been speculated that the long-running Monday night show may move to a different night. Melter concluded by stating that AEW should not try to go head-to-head with WWE programming and any change of broadcast nights are not going to be seen until late 2024 at the earliest:
AEW obviously has to avoid, I mean, they don’t have to avoid WWE, but it would not be in their benefit. I mean, could they go the same night as NXT? Yeah, they could. And they were very successful in that. And WWE probably wouldn’t look as bad. Let’s just say they both ended up with both shows on Wednesday. I mean, it’s CW. So it’s like a network versus cable. So there would be a big advantage.
But even with that advantage, you know, who knows how the outcome is going to be. And so that could be very good, you know, it could happen, I don’t see it being smart for AEW, to go head-to-head with Raw or SmackDown.
But, like I said, as far as the stuff that we’re talking about, that’s all a 2025 story because 2024 is locked until September, everything’s gonna be the same until the end of September, and then Raw will move to everything in October, and, you know, right around then would be the last ditch thing. And then AEW is in its spot until the end of the year. And then we’ll see.
They [AEW] could be shopping around and should be shopping around, they should be shopping everything, you know, including an attempt to get ROH somewhere. So, you know, that’s basically it. But I mean, Punk is an important player. How this all turns out, who knows?
In a further update, WWE executives have reportedly recently met with WBD in New York.
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